Pay and Display Machine Maintenance and Associated Back-office System, Hardware Upgrades, and PSP Service

Contract for maintenance and hardware upgrades for the council's existing stock of 73 pay and display machines. To Include associated back-office systems, and Payment Service Provider service to facilitate contactless card payments.

Background:

Herefordshire Council currently owns 73 pay and display machines of varying age for its off-street and on-street car parks within Herefordshire. A recent review of the machines, manufactured and maintained by Metric Group Ltd, has found that most are anticipated to have a few years of operational use remaining. The council therefore needs to ensure continued maintenance of the existing machines and associated back-office system, as well a number of hardware upgrades and compatible Payment Service Provider service (PSP) for pay-by-card options.

Appointing a new supplier would require either wholescale replacement or significant overhauls to the existing machines, resulting in wasted utility of the current stock and disproportionate costs and operational disruption.

This award is being made under s41(1)(a) of the Procurement Act 2023 with reference to Schedule 5.

Paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 provides that a direct award is permitted when:

The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract-

(a)due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and

(b)there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works.

Paragraph 7 of Schedule 5 provides that direct award is permitted when:

The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing

supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods,

services or works in circumstances where-

• (a)a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works, and
• (b)the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance.